Charcuterie and Cheese Plate 101 with ClubW

If you ask my husband, my go-to appetizer is a cheese plate. It’s quick and easy and people tend to love it. Pair it with wine and bam, I could just eat if for dinner (and often do). Today, I am teaming up with ClubW to share with you how I build my charcuterie and cheese boards. This isn’t an exact science, I usually grab cheeses and meats that are on sale, but there are a few things I think you need to make a big impact. 


Get a Great Cheese Board
A great cheese board. I bought this one from WS and am obsessed with it. It’s perfect for big gatherings and always gets so many compliments. It’s a bit of a splurge for something I only use occasionally, but I think it’s worth it. However, when it’s just 2-4 people, I opt for a small board and less variety. I love this one we got for our wedding. It’s affordable and comes with cheese knives. You want to make sure your board looks full and not empty, so weigh the pros and cons of each board before you select it for use. I started with the WS board, but quickly switched to the smaller board since I only had one meat option, make sense? If you choose to use a smaller board, just put a little of each out and just monitor and refill areas as necessary!


Invest in some Cheese Knives
Set out some good cheese knives. I don’t think you need a different knife per cheese, but you should have 1 knife for soft cheese, one for meat and one for hard cheeses. One per cheese would be ideal, but not 100% necessary. I love these. 


Now, let’s talk about the content of the board. Here are the items I think make a great board. 


Cheese and Meats (duh)

1. A soft cheese – my go to is always goat because I love it and if it doesn’t get eaten, I know I’ll use it. We usually always have goat cheese around out house. I loved it with “Loves me Not” Other soft cheese options could include Brie, Camembert, etc. 
2. A semi-soft cheese – again, I like Gouda and that’s what I use, but other options could include friulano or havarti (both delish)
3. A hard cheese – I use manchego for this board, but again, open. Other examples could include grana padano or parmigiano reggiano.
4. I didn’t use any, but I think a veined or stinky cheese is also great. I just don’t eat Blue cheese or Gorgonzola types. 
5. As for meats, I think this is totally up to you. I love a good Sopressata, a dry-cured salami with flavors of anise and garlic. I love pairing it with The Bluffer from ClubW.Other great meats include prosciutto, salami, or duck. If Im entertaining for more than 4 people, Ill usually do 2-3 meats for variety, but if it’s just Aaron and I, I stick to one usually just to keep the price point down. 

ClubW offers users a unique matching system to pair new users with wines they will like to you get the best first experience! If you sign up with this link, www.clubw.com/cbbpwine you can get 1 bottle on me + ClubW!


What are your cheese board tips? Are you as obsessed as I am?


Thanks for reading! Happy eating and cheers!


xx, A